


It Ends With Us

by Kieris



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Confused Hatake Kakashi, Dark Humor, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Multiple, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-27 08:01:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30119655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kieris/pseuds/Kieris
Summary: What if the fight with Kaguya ended a little differently?What if Sasuke wasn't able to get over his hatred?What if, in their final battle, Naruto and Sasuke aimed differently?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alternatively, what will happen if Naruto and Sasuke are give a second chance, along with way too much emotional baggage and unresolved issues?
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 23
Kudos: 83





	1. Blood // Water

Indra’s Arrow met the two light and dark Rasenshurikens in a violent burst of electricity, followed by a huge, resounding blast of wind and chakra that ravaged the entire valley. The surroundings long since destroyed in the battle once again shook in the devastating impact, the two towering statues they once stood on all but demolished.

Two bodies fell from the height, chakra drained and strength near empty, landing with thuds in small clouds of dust.

Naruto bit his lips as he gingery pushed himself up, while Kurama scolded him grumpily at the back of his mind. He barely had time to look up before he heard the familiar shout of “Amateratsu!”, and narrowly he managed to prevent himself from a painful death by cursed flames with a surge of raw kyuubi chakra.

“Over and over, over and over. _Just give up let me cut you down already!_ ”

Sasuke’s voice was raw and harsh, but eerily low. So full of anger and hatred and frustration and so much of the emotions that he had never been able to deal with. FIlling it so much to the brim that the end of the sentence pitched higher and higher, almost resembling a whine before ending in a scream.

Naruto’s heart clenched at the sound. It was so sad and anguished, he can hear each tiny quiver, each of them conveying more than Sasuke, that emotionally stunted bastard, will ever be able to truly voice.

“I’m not going to let you be alone again. No matter what.” Ends up being his response. It’s a genuine statement, spoken with as much resolve and determination as he harbors. Even though he wishes he could convey more, even though there is so much more he wants Sasuke to understand.

“There is _nothing_ in this world left worth protecting. Konoha will fall, and everything else will follow.”

Jet black eyes met his own in a glare fueled with fury and spite, as if daring him to challenge the proclamation. And Naruto couldn’t decide what to say even as he was charging at him, footwork sloppy and fists raised in a way too telegraphed punch.

He isn’t angry at Sasuke for that declaration, he knows. He had known for years that Sasuke may pursue this one day. Sure, when he fought alongside him against Madara and Kaguya with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, he had felt the flutter of hope in his chest. He did entertain the fleeting wish that maybe, just maybe, he can have Team 7 again, that he can get back the best friend he never really got to have.

Of course, that brief flare of hope was completely doused with the fall of the other two team members. It was frozen over twice over when even in the face of victory - if it can be called that - Sasuke refused to cooperate.

A kick came down on him, followed by more blows, and he instinctively raised his arm to block. The poorly executed retaliation from Sasuke just barely landed, but they’re far from enough to bring him down. He can tell that they’re both exhausted, yet also both too stubborn to give in, both having too much to prove.

And so they slugged it out under the fading light. Their battered bodies moving too sloppily to even classify as taijutsu, and rather more akin to two drunk men brawling at the verge of passing out. Each punch and kick added another bruise, cracked another rib, and drained a fraction of strength from the other, until neither is certain how long they had been fighting.

At some point during the fight, Sasuke lost the sensation of rage and hatred that bubbled d in his chest. Taking its place was a void, a frigid feeling of emptiness, and all that’s powering him on is the overwhelming purpose and conviction he had always focused himself with. Somewhere along the lines, they are all he has left, even if he doesn’t truly have anything to aim them at anymore.

He panted heavily, vaguely aware of the blood dripping sluggishly along his fingers. Whether it’s his own or Naruto’s, he isn’t sure, and he doesn’t really care.

Another punch, then an uppercut. A slight twist, a kick that didn’t quite go all the way.

His opponent recoiled, then countered hastily. A huff, a sharp intake of breath. A roll to avoid a blow that ends with him sprawled before scrambling up.

Another bit of anger, frustration. Of _why why **why**_ can’t you leave me alone. Their blows landed uselessly on each other simultaneously, too weak to even have any impact.

Sasuke stared at his opponent, and into Naruto’s bright cerulean eyes. They’re so full of life, even when burdened with so much exhaustion, so much desperation. He can no longer ignore the pain in them, but even more than that, he sees in them what he always does, what the fool always, stubbornly displays. The understanding, the empathy, and he if he focuses any more he would swear he can hear the _“I understand, I understand your pain.”_ , even after all the words he once refuted that claim with.

It makes him want to scream with frustration, and before he knows it, his own words are spilling uncontrollably out of his mouth. Familiar even, with how much he had screamed them, with how much he repeated them over and over in his own mind.

“You always acted as if you understand. What do you know? You never lost anyone precious to you before. You had no one to lose in the first place. You never knew the agony yet you kept telling me you understand me? You understand _**nothing!**_ ”

His throat felt impossibly hoarse, doubtless the result of all the yelling on top of the nonstop combat. The rest of his body isn’t much better, his legs felt so boneless that it’s a wonder it’s still supporting himself, and his arms numb from the endless swings.

The blond is uncharacteristically quiet. Naruto’s fists are clenched so tightly they’re visibly trembling, although that could be accounted for by exhaustion. He seems to inhale softly, before meeting his eyes, cerulean orbs boring into onyx, and a slight twitch of pale lips.

“Sure I do, I lost _you_ , didn’t I.”

The response was so solemn, yet so quiet that Sasuke wasn’t certain if he even meant for them to be heard. 

A primal, emotional scream, overflowing with anguish and incomprehension and despair and frustration and grief.

He isn’t sure who it’s from, if it was both, or if it’s a product of his own mind.

A rush of emotions flooded his mind, so overwhelming that he can’t coherently think, let alone comprehend anything.

All that is left in his mind is the blond figure in front of him, disheveled, obnoxiously yellow hair blown by the wind as it gets closer and closer. Lighting wreathes his own hand as he drains his last bit of chakra to form a chidori without as much as a thought.

Naruto propelled himself forward, chakra gathering in one hand even as he maintained eye contact with his former friend.

He can’t help but see the small academy boy he once latched onto declared his roval, eyeing him with annoyance as he kicked his ass in a spar.

Or the broody pre-teen, expression clouded ad he charged at him on the rooftop, newly learned chidori cackling as he ran.

Or the one descending onto him, overshadowing him with the morphed form courtesy Orochimaru’s curse seal, dark lightning flashing.

Or the one at the bridge, eyes nearly blinded by the burden of the mangekyo, half formed susanoo enveloping curled around his torso. 

And the one now, regarding the world so coldly and vindictively, with all the grace and spite of an avenging angel.

He can see the emptiness, desperation, and anguish that’s consuming him behind those angry black eyes. It’s as if they’re burning his soul from the inside out, until there is nothing left.

Naruto can think of nothing except to let himself burn as well.

_Sorry, Kurama,_ he mentally apologizes, _sorry it ends like this._ He knows it’s selfish, that this is how he chooses to end things, even as he tunes the fox’s reply out.

He raises the rasengan swirling in his palm, knowing that it will be his last.

The chirping of a thousand birds, and a bustling sphere of bright blue chakra.

Two jutsus approached their targets, so slowly, yet arriving in an instant.

Blood splattered as flesh ripped with a gruesome noise. Two hearts crushed as two figures stood in front of each other, poses mirroring the other in a horrendous symmetry.

The pain was shocking, excruciating the moment it registered, but Sasuke only felt it at the recesses of his mind. All the conscious thought he can muster, rapidly fading as it is, is on clear blue eyes he’s still staring into.

It’s only then that something in him dissipates, and he absently wonders how it’s possible for his heart to skip a beat when it’s been completely crushed.

With some difficulty, he opens his mouth, and the words escape him in a single rattling breath.

“I really went too far, didn’t I?”

Naruto’s gaze flicked at him. There’s no trace of the previous anger and frustration, only a faint resignation.

“Damn right you did.” The reply was just as faint, and if it weren’t for the fact their faces are inches apart, it would’ve been lost to the wind.

He prayed for his body for it to give him just a bit more, just one more breath, and it complied, albeit even weaker than the last.

“Sorry. And thank you.”

It was all he could manage.

Sorry for way too many things.

And thank you for being my friend.

Thank you for not giving up on me.

Thank you for not letting me be alone.

Thank you for staying with me.

Thank you for ending this.

Sorry it ended like this.

Pale lips, dribbling blood, lifted into something of a smile, and Sasuke knew that his intent was understood. They parted one last time, and soundlessly left him with one last word.

“ **Teme.** ”

“ **Dobe.** ”

Sasuke mouthed back.

Naruto’s fingers brushed against his own, index and middle finger hooking his own firmly as their legs collapsed under them.

In that moment, even as the waves crashed and the wind roared, the entire valley was silent as two bodies hit the ground.


	2. End of the World

Sasuke woke up with a sharp gasp.

That isn’t quite accurate.

More precisely, he fell down smack on the pavement, narrowly avoided indenting his forehead into the pavement, and came into awareness with a sharp gasp. Dismayed by how his body is sprawled messily on the ground, he clumsily tries to push himself back up, and almost succeeds the moment his mind finally caught up to him.

He’s sprawled on the pavement. Cold, grey concrete commonly used on larger roads in villages.

There isn’t supposed to be any concrete. He also isn’t supposed to be in a village.  
The valley was carved into stone, so mud and gravel maybe, but not concrete. Distinctively not concrete.

And of course, the most pressing issue.

He’s pretty fucking sure he’s supposed to be _dead_.

Last he checked getting his heart torn apart by a _goddamned rasengan_ is supposed to be fatal.

He twitched his fingers. His fingernail scraped roughly against the coarse concrete.

Yup, not dead.

He doesn't feel quite dead.

_Dead_. His mind repeated. Naruto _killed me_. And I _killed_ him.

The idea isn’t registering. It feels so surreal, just a simple phrase, but its implications so heavy.

I died and oh my god _**me and Naruto just killed each other**_.

It’s not as if he hasn’t tried to kill that idiot before, that idiot who chased him across the entire god forsaken continent and declared him a friend in his face right after he tried to chidori him to death.

Except this time he succeeded.

Except sometime right before he died he realized. A vague idea that _no this isn’t what I wanted_ , that _I was wrong_ and _I made the shittiest fucking choices ever_.

But that’s all they are, just vague ideas and he has no clue what he should do about this newfound revelation.

Because he isn’t supposed to need to do anything. 

Because he’s supposed to be _**dead**_.

And if this is the afterlife this is the stupidest joke ever. _Let’s let the international terrorist that tried to destroy Konoha spend the rest of eternity in that exact village_. Poetic, really. And a complete and utter joke.

Sometime while his mind was whirling, his body has pushed itself up painstakingly, and he is now staring at his hands in a horror that is probably comical to any bystanders.

I’m in Konoha, he realizes as he examines his surroundings, why in the name of Madara’s fucking _Susanoo_ am I in Konoha?

Even though it’s been years since he’s been inside the village, he’s still able to identify his location shockingly easily. He’s on the main road that cuts across the village facing the Hokage monuments, and is currently a few minutes walk from the Hokage office and the academy.

The Uchiha compound is a few streets to the left behind him, the hospital about one street behind, and Naruto’s favorite Ichiraku ramen stand is probably just one street to his left.

And he’s currently on his way to the academy, because for some god forsaken reason he’s in his 12 year old body wearing that stupid collared blue shirt he wore as a kid that covers half his face whenever he looks down.

Which, by the way.

What the fuck.

===

Naruto opened his bleary eyes to a stained, chipped ceiling.

He frowned. He doesn’t recall his room being in such bad shape.

Then he squinted, because the ceiling looks oddly familiar, as if he’s seen it before. A lot.

Oh. It’s his old apartment, the one he hasn’t set foot in since Pein demolished it along with the majority of the village.

_So that’s what my afterlife looks like_. He, like the genius mastermind he is, came to the only logical explanation he can think of.

**_Oh for Sage’s sake. You’re not dead yet, kit._** A gruff voice appeared in the back of his mind. 

_Kurama! You’re here too!_ Naruto immediately perked up at the sound of the kyuubi’s voice. It took a moment for him to think about what he said. _Wait, what do you mean I’m not dead? Where am I then?_

**_That’s all you have to say to me? After that crap you pulled?_** The voice snarled. It sounds angry, and a touch bitter.

_Huh, what I did_ \- Comprehension dawned on him before he can finish the thought. Guilt suddenly swarmed him because he let himself be killed, and he didn’t even seriously consider what would happen to Kurama after he died. 

_Oh my god Kurama I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking in the middle of the fight and I mean I probably still would’ve done the same thing but I didn’t consider what would happen to you if I die and oh no are you dead as well now I though that’s not how it works -_

_**Breathe, you little brat.**_ The anger seems to have receded some, replaced by a touch of resignation, and a long suffering sigh filled his head. _**I’m somehow not surprised. Looks like your idiocy is infectious.**_

_Kurama!_ Naruto pouted mentally before remembering where he is. _So, where are we?_

Kurama grunted something unintelligible that sounds suspiciously like an insult. _**We’re still going to be talking about this later. He warned lowly. Now check the date, kit.**_

Naruto complied, rolling out of his bed(The bed he hasn’t been in for years!), and twisted his head to look for the calendar at his bedside. A particular date is circled and scribbled around, but not crossed out like all the dates preceding it. 

He can actually feel his eyes widen. _It’s graduation day. Kurama! It’s graduation day! Why is it the graduation day?_

Another grumble, followed by a noise Naruto is pretty sure is fox for a chuckle.

_**Thought you’re smart, brat, take a guess.** _

Naruto continued to stare dumbly at the calendar. 

This day is still etched clearly in his memories. It’s the day when he and his classmates were formally announced to have graduated. When they became genins. It’s the day he met Kakashi-sensei, the mysterious masked pervert who has earned his begrudging- acknowledgement-turned-respect over the years. It’s the day Team 7 was formed, when he resolved himself to be accepted by them. It’s the day everything started, even if he didn’t know it yet at the time.

It’s one of the most important days in his childhood, he thought, so why is he here?

_**The old man did something, didn’t like how things ended up I’m pretty sure.**_ Kurama finally said.

_So he what, sent us back in time?_ Naruto questioned Incredulously. 

The fox stayed silent.

_Kurama! Did we actually -_

_**Yeah, we’re in the past, as far as I can tell.** _

_I- wha- So you mean, the Sage of Six Paths himself, got made at how we resolved things and decided the best solution is to make us time travel?_ The incredulity of the situation is still having trouble sinking in. _He can do that? Why didn’t he do that before?_

_**Hell if I know, haven’t actually heard from him in centuries. Though I’d be pretty pissed too if my reincarnations graduate from one killing the other to mutually murdering one another.**_ Kurama commented dryly.

Right, theres also… that… that happened.

A thought immediately occurred to him.

Does that mean… Sasuke is also… here? He isn’t sure how he wants to react to that possibility. On one hand, he honestly can not say he would be relieved not to be alone in this time travel… expedition. On the other hand, they did just..

He's probably way too calm considering what just happened. Maybe he’s still in shock or something. Sakura mentioned something about extreme situations and mind not coping and a whole lot of medical jargon he did not understand.

Sakura. Sakura is still alive right now. Kakashi-sensei too. Neji, Tenten, Ero-Sennin. Everyone he has lost in the past 5 years. They’re all still alive.

_This, this is a second chance?_ He finally comprehended, almost not daring to hope.

**_Yes kit, so it would seem._** He didn’t miss the fondness and gentleness in the fox’s tone, but he pretended to. Just this once he thinks he can spare the oversized kitsune the teasing. _**Now get to work, kit..**_ He grinned at the fox’s ushering. The situation is still incredibly bizarre, way too strange for him to wrap his head around, but who is he if not one to never give up?

He checked the time, finding that it’s relatively early in the morning. The academy will start in about an hour.

He stretched his way-smaller-than-it-should-be body, put on his best confident smile, and declared to himself.

“Alright! Let’s do this ’ttebaiyo!”

\---

A hasty breakfast via cup ramen later - and woah if that’s not nostalgic - along with a full glass of tap water - he remembered last minute what the consequence of drinking that expired milk was - he’s tying on his hitai-ate and on his way to the academy.

Moving around is odd, everything’s so familiar that he can practically tell where they are with his eyes closed. But at the same time, he’s so short, he feels like he had when he just spent hours walking in a henge way taller than he actually is, which he has a surprising amount of experience in. What with his signature sexy-jutsu and Jiraiya’s lessons in "infiltrations".

His steps are smaller, and his legs twist awkwardly when he tries to place his foot farther than it usually reaches. He huffed when he looked around and is reminded how much of a difference a good dozen inches makes when he realizes how much closer he is to the ground.

Regardless, he’s able to keep his spirits up as he makes his way down the street in the usual prance he used to walk in. He’s almost certain that he managed to replicate it perfectly. As much as he’s not used to it, this is still his body, damn it!

The academy is just as he remembered it. Rows of worn wooden desks, murky black chalkboards that never quite erase cleanly, and bustling with childish chatter. His eyes immediately spot a head of black hair, and almost recoils physically when he sees the familiar duck-butt style and Sasuke’s ever-sulking glare.

There’s such a disconnect between the Sasuke in his mind, all mature and tall and dangerous, and this 12-year old Sasuke. This one is so small that it can probably be described as cute, if not for his expression. Angry and cold, as it always is.

Good to see that some things never change, it’s kind of hilarious to realize that older Sasuke has nearly the same expression as 12 year old him. On the flip side though, He’s still no closer to figuring out whether Sasuke did travel back as well or not. It would make sense if he did, since they were together at the last moment, but Sasuke’s stony glare gave nothing away.

Sakura’s face gave him another shock. Her death is so recent that he hasn’t even had the time to come to terms with it, and now she’s right there in front of her, in all her glory of a 12 year old fangirl. His mind replayed her death, of blood, a choked scream, a hand half raised before it falls. The image overlaps with the younger Sakura in front of him, and he forces himself to look away.

Shikamaru walked by him and commented something that he did not hear, he gave him his best dopey grin and hoped that it wasn’t a question. 

Heart still pounding, he willed himself to calm down and tried to recall what happened last time this day - and oh god he’s going to have to get used to thinking like this, isn’t he? - and the memory of a particular unfortunate collision comes to mind.

His eyes wandered subconsciously to Sasuke again. The other boy is still in the same position, not even saying a word, although he does feel his gaze burning a hole into him earlier.

He still can’t tell whether Sasuke actually traveled back as well, and the mischievous part entertained the idea of letting the accidental kiss happen again just to see his reaction.

He decided against it. He would rather not have Sasuke kill him again this early into the game.

Then he cringed internally at thought. It’s probably too early to be joking about the matter. He still hasn’t properly addressed it with himself yet. Then he paled even more at the idea that if Sasuke really is here, he probably will eventually have to talk about it with him.

Maybe it’s better if he’s alone in this after all.

He didn’t bother listening when Iruka-sensei walked in and started talking, too busy side eyeing the probably-12-year-old Sasuke. He’s not sure if his mind is just making things up, but Sasuke does seem tenser than usual.

He knows he isn’t being subtle at all, and he’s starting to hope that Sasuke will call him out on it and a) be his usual self and insult him for it or b) pull him aside and accuse him of time-traveling.

Sure would be convenient. Naruto’s pretty sure there is a tactile way of asking _“hey did you also time travel into your younger body because we fought each other to the death right after fighting together against an evil rabbit goddess hell bent on destroying all human population?”_ , but he’s never been much for tact.

God he hopes Sasuke has a better plan of action than him.

===

Sasuke has absolutely no clue what he’s doing.

He arrived at the academy in a daze earlier, hardly even aware of how he got there. By the time he entered his classroom, he'd already dismissed his first two theories.

The first was genjutsu, which is impossible, because with his mangekyo, he’s practically immune to genjutsus. That aside, he can’t think of any reason why anyone would put him under a genjutsu like this. Just what is this supposed to achieve, after all?

The second was hallucination. Which was plausible for all but 2 minutes before he decided it isn’t. Everything is too real, too detailed. The warm summer air was a noticeable contrast from the frigid winter gales they’d been fighting in, but it’s so undeniably real as he breathed it in. It smells like grass and forests and dust blown into the air and tree sap and flowers, starkly different from the scent of rust and grime on the battlefield.

The few students in the classroom didn’t react beyond a passing gaze when he found a seat at random and sat down, so he assumed that he was supposed to be there.

It’s his old academy classroom, so on some levels, it makes sense. 

Aforementioned two theories dismissed, that only leaves two other possibilities, both as outrageous and impossible as the other.

Either this is some twisted parody of an afterlife, or he has somehow time traveled all the way back to when he is an academy student, more than 5 years ago.

Both explanations raise more questions than it answers, but still seems more likely than anything else. After the shitshow that was the war, he’s not about to dismiss anything as truly impossible.

His suspicions are further confirmed when Naruto bounced into the room, in all his childish flair. He would’ve thought nothing is wrong if the blond didn’t keep sneaking looks at him, lips pressed into a weird half frown and eyes squinted as if looking for something. A reaction, he concedes, the other boy is probably suspecting if he’s in the same situation.

He managed to keep up his stoic facade, mostly because he has no idea how to react. Seeing Naruto again is weird, it’s beyond weird, it elicited so many separate reactions in his mind that he mentally checked out right then and there.

When he zoned back in, Iruka was talking, and it only took a few words of “graduation” and “genins” that he finally realized what day it’s supposed to be.

_It’s the day they graduated from the academy._

He’s suddenly painfully aware of a weight on his forehead, the konoha hitai-ate he hasn’t worn in years, the one that he abandoned at the final valley when they fought the first time, when he laid it right beside Naruto’s unconscious body.

Naruto is still turning to look at him every couple of minutes, and he wished desperately for his brain to work again, to come up with what he should do.

His brain did not. He’s not sure what he expected.

Iruka said something about teams and meetings and lunch breaks, and then he blinked and everyone was leaving the classroom. Everyone except for a single blond, still stubbornly studying him, cerulean eyes searching and questioning.

He shoots up from his seats and _bolts_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [xxx](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJwbasCno1g)
> 
> Me: This is just some quick exposition, should only be a few sentences.
> 
> Me eight google doc pages later:
> 
> ===
> 
> Was going to do the team meeting this chapter but guess we'll save that for next time, so look forward to that. We'll probably have Kakashi POV.
> 
> Let me know how it is! Hope the characters aren't too OOC.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke is a god damned _asshole._ Naruto decides.  
The tension in the room is practically dense enough to shear through with a goddamned _kunai_ , and Naruto’s pretty sure Sakura is about to pass out because said tension is about to collectively _suffocate_ them.

Naruto is going to have _words_ with Sasuke, he decides vehemently. The asshole bolted out of the classroom at nearly _shushin_ speed the moment the class ended, and that’s all but enough for Naruto to conclude that yes, Sasuke and him are officially time-travel buddies.

Oh joy.

He briefly considered running after him, but decided against that in favor of wandering around the academy, mostly thanks to the fact that of course he forgot to pack a lunch. Not like he had anything to pack back in the apartment aside from instant ramen cups. He skipped lunch most days when he was still in the academy anyways, and no one noticed since it’s not like he had anyone to sit with.

So he was patiently waiting in their assigned classroom, quietly contemplating what he can do in the 3 plus hours it will probably take for Kakashi-sensei to show up and if he should try striking up a proper conversation with Sakura. Then Sasuke strolled in, all dark airs and prideful posture, saw Naruto alone in the classroom, promptly backed right out, and right into Sakura who was walking in.

Sakura panicked, Sasuke ignored her in favor of trying to ignore Naruto, and now all three of them are sitting quietly in random seats, in various levels of sulking.

So yeah, Naruto is going to have words with Sasuke because this is his goddamned fault. There goes his chance for Team 7 to have a smooth first meeting, not like that was likely anyways. Except the few times he did try to have words with Sasuke, things ended rather… violently, so maybe that’s not the best idea.

He’s still totally going to do it, witnessing Sasuke’s complete wreck of social skills is giving him a craving for death.

Sasuke is still staring out the windows, brooding up a storm and seemingly determined to look anywhere but him.

He supposes it could be worse. At least he’s not actively trying to kill him.

 _ **That bar is so low it’s six feet under.**_ Kurama, who has been quiet for the past few hours, suddenly interjects.

Naruto doesn’t even have a rebuttal to that.

 _This sucks._ He thought back glumly.

===

Sasuke is starting to hope someone can hit him in the head hard enough to give him amnesia, preferably to wipe out all memories of the past 5 hours. Or years. Or kill him. That’d work too.

He feels like a fish flopping around on dry ground. Having to survive in a room of 12 year old kids is challenging to say the least, but at least he never did talk much before, so no one expects him to interact with anyone.

What he did absolutely cannot deal with, however, was the fangirls. Why were there so many girls fawning over him? Why can’t they just leave him alone? Ino, Sakura, and a whole platoon more he’s never even bothered to remember names of following him around the entire lunch time, somehow finding him no matter what he does. 

They remind him way too strongly of Karin, which doesn’t exactly invoke good memories, since last he remembered he skewered her with a chidori beam along with that bastard Danzo. Though from what he heard, Sakura apparently saved her later.

And of course there’s Sakura, batting her eyes maddeningly at him and trying to get his attention with increasingly infuriating attempts at small talk while twisting those pink locks repeatedly around her fingers. Another girl he tried to kill. Granted, she was attempting to assassinate (? Does that attempt count? It really wasn’t that good an attempt) him, but still.

Ino and the rest he can handle, but Sakura, he doesn’t know how he should react to. It’s not like the other girl even knows what he did. At least, he hopes not. Naruto will be enough to have to deal with as is.

It took all that he had to return to the classroom, mostly because he doesn’t want the teachers to know that somethings up just yet, and since he very maturely decided to make the good choice of not immediately fucking everything up. That said, he almost dropped everything to leave the village to become a nuke-nin again the moment he saw Naruto alone in the classroom, _oh hell no's _ringing through his head. Then the world decided to screw him over again by having Sakura walk right into his frozen self.__

__Now he’s stuck in the room with a fellow (probably)time traveler, a hopeless fangirl, both of whom he once attempted to murder, waiting for their former-future teacher, who he also at one point tried to kill._ _

___Maybe this is the universe’s punishment for me._ He thought despairingly, _Stuck reliving my own past to repeatedly remind me how much i fucked up.__ _

__Contrary to popular beliefs, Sasuke is not immune to social atmospheres, and even he can feel the insufferable tension brewing in the room._ _

__Impressively, Sakura still hasn’t said a single word besides the panicked apology at the door, which he promptly ignored, too focused on not looking at either of them. _She’s probably confused,_ he mused, _but even she knows something’s up.__ _

__He sighed deeply at the murky window. He can’t even tell the trees apart through it._ _

__A good amount of time passed before any one of them spoke._ _

__Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Naruto._ _

__“Ugh, He’s so late!” He grumbled, standing up to look out to the hallway._ _

__“Naruto!” Sakura immediately chided, head perking up. “Stop fidgeting!”_ _

__“Why’s our team’s teacher the only one who’s late ‘ttebayo!” Naruto pouted petulantly. “All the other teams are already off with their sensei, even Iruka-sensei is gone!”_ _

__Sasuke feels a bit impressed how quickly the previous tension dissipated with the small bit of normalcy, then even more at how _normal_ Naruto is managing to act. If it weren’t for the weird looks directed at him earlier, he would have even doubted his original suspicions that something is also up with Naruto. Or maybe it just means that Naruto's mentality is permanently 12 years old. that makes sense too._ _

__In the corner of his vision, he can see Naruto climbing clumsily up a footstool to balance a duster on the doorframe. The obnoxiously orange jumpsuit twisted and creased as he jumps down, and he silently marvels about how this idiotic imitation of a tangerine grew into the strongest opponent and respectable shinobi he knows. Said shinobi who is probably trapped in that tiny body, in that stupid jumpsuit. Oh god._ _

__Sakura is still chiding Naruto, who’s scratching his neck in that familiar display of sheepishness and amusement, and he’s struck with a sudden sense of deja vu. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he can remember team 7’s first interaction going almost exactly the same way._ _

__“Tch, again?” The words slipped out before he processed them._ _

__Two heads whipped around immediately to stare at him._ _

__Right. He hasn’t spoken a word since he got here. Sakura is watching him with eager attention, mixed with apparent confusion at what he’s referring to._ _

__Faintly amused, he tries to recall how exactly he reacted last time this happened._ _

__Knowing himself. He probably didn’t. Huh._ _

__Naruto, meanwhile, is staring at him with widened eyes, in a mixture of what appears to be shock and wariness. Understandable, he reasons, since it’s the first thing he’s said since…whatever that happened that got them here._ _

__Kakashi-sensei chose that exact moment to walk in, the duster bouncing off his head in a small puff of smoke, sole eye unimpressed and giving away nothing on the masked face._ _

__“My first impressions of you… Maaa.. I hate you.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter! Wanted to get this little bit out first.
> 
> A bit more insight into the characters minds, they're still pretty confused, but hopefully they'll get their shit together soon.


	4. Different Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi meets his three little gremlins.
> 
> Sasuke keeps freaking out.
> 
> [xxx](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtN2h-rGwc4)  
> 

Hatake Kakashi isn't sure what he was expecting when he was ordered to take a genin team of three fresh academy graduates.

It’s not as if he’s never taken genins before. It’s just that he usually fails them immediately after and therefore he’s never had to be responsible for any. This team, however, he’s ordered to pass by the council, which means he’s pretty much bound chain and ball to the team of three little demons.

Of which includes Minato sensei’s kid who is also the kyuubi’s jinchuuriki and Konoha’s residential scorned prankster, the last survivor of the Uchiha massacre who is this year’s top graduate, and a girl.

Now, Kakashi isn’t one to look down on females. Between Minato sensei’s wife Kushina, the sannin Tsunade, and Anko _(shivers)_ , he knows that kunoichis aren’t any less capable than male shinobis. The problem lies in the fact that he is not a female, and consequently does not know what to do with a 12 year old girl who reportedly has an obsessive crush on another 12 year old in her team.

And to think that she is likely the least troublesome of the three.

He’s heard plenty of Uchiha Sasuke, the tragic legacy of the Uchiha clan. He’s at the top of his year, and has a single minded determination to avenge his clan. Oh, and as he just found out, the boy is still living in the Uchiha compound. By himself. Where his entire family was slaughtered. By his brother.

He can’t decide whether he’s more angry at the village for allowing the kid to live like this, or at Hiruzen for dumping the angry traumatized child in his hands. He must know better than anyone that Kakashi’s not the perfect picture of good mental health.

Then finally there’s Uzumaki Naruto. Guilt coils around his heart whenever he thinks about him. 

12 years. 12 years and he still hasn’t had the courage to face his sensei’s son.

Well, perhaps it also partially has to do with the fact that said son is a raging baby menace that no adult can hope to control who has managed to deface the entire hokage mountain without being caught. Naturally, he might feel a bit out of his league. Still, Kakashi rather not think of himself as one who relies heavily on excuses.

The visit to the kid’s house was a hard smack to the head. He didn’t realize how the kid lived alone, much less in that shitty apartment, living off of instant ramen and expired milk.

Or maybe he did know. He just didn’t want to find out. Because if he doesn’t then he also won’t need to accept the responsibility that he knows he has for the kid, the fact that he still failed him.

Maybe it’s a good thing Hiruzen placed him in his team. Doesn’t change the fact that he feels completely and utterly unqualified to handle any single one of them.

A good couple of hours later, when he’s felt he’s sufficiently avoided his responsibilities for long enough, he decides to face his hellions and check out how they’ve dealt with the heavy expense of their patience.

The first thing he notices is the excessive amount of chalk dust under the doorframe. He glances up, and sure enough, a chalkboard duster is wedged carefully between the door and the frame. 

Amateurish, but still amusing enough. Probably Naruto’s work, he mused, he’ll find some way to get back at the kid later. He allows it to drop as he slides the door open and lets the analytical portion of mind take over in favor of observing the three kids inside.

An awkward silence hangs in the classroom, and Kakashi immediately gets the sense that he’s interrupted something. Probably a conversation that got too heated, he thought, recalling the voices he heard just before he arrived.

Curiously, the two boys are currently not facing their teammates, but staring at him with two equaling befuddling expressions. He struggles to decipher them in the split second he had taken scanning their faces. Along with something darker and more serious, there’s definitely something akin to recognition in Naruto’s eyes. Weird, considering how he religiously avoided the kid for the past decade - not that it was hard since all he had to do was to give a wide berth to any unfounded chaos and obnoxious yells - and he’d know if they’ve ran into each other before.

The Uchiha kid is way more guarded, a gaze even darker that is almost completely flat yet way too intense. He can’t help wonder what he’d done to earn a glare like that, surely being moderately late does not warrant an attempt on his life? A shiver starts to make its way down his spine just when the aforementioned duster finally hits his head.

Everything seems to freeze for a single second.

Huffing out an imperceptible breath under his mask. “My first impressions of you… Maaa.. I hate you.” He said lazily, more to see their reactions than anything.

Haruno Sakura, who has previously been hyper focused on the emo Uchiha, immediately turned to him and started apologizing, frantically spouting something about it being Naruto’s idea. Despite that, she doesn’t sound very genuine, and did a poor job at masking the amusement at the event. _Slightly pretentious,_ he noted, _but nothing too unordinary for a typical pre-teen girl._

The blond is already laughing goofily, a finger pointed at him and very well ignoring the pinkette’s claims. The previous seriousness completely forgotten and replaced with childish triumph. Uchiha Sasuke still hasn’t moved a muscle, and even Kakashi is starting to feel uncomfortable under the ever intensifying glare.

Children are such incomprehensible creatures. He once again lamented over (being forced to) accepting this task.

“Meet me on the roof in five.” He commanded monotonously before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. 

He’s so not old enough to deal with this shit.  


\---

  
A good bit more than five minutes later, the three kids are finally situated grumpily on the steps in front of him. He’s almost certain that there’s no reason for them to take this long, but decided that he really doesn’t have room to talk after being more than an hour late. Maybe the little hellions are even more vindictive than he thought.

A fair exchange of wordless glares and a good amount of fidgeting later, Kakashi groans inwardly and breaks the silence. “First off, let me have you guys introduce yourselves”, he intones.

A blank stare, a nervous glance, and a single pink head whose eyes aren’t even on him.

“Names. Your likes, dislikes, future dreams, hobbies. Come on.” He adds reluctantly.

Naruto is the first to speak up, blue eyes perking up in sudden enthusiasm.

“Hey, hey, before that, how about you tell us about yourself first?” He inquired.

Uchiha Sasuke suddenly breaks eye contact with him in favor of sending the blond a weird look.

He scanned the pair again as he spoke: “Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don’t feel like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes. I’ve never really thought about my future dream. As for my hobbies, I have many.” He finishes, just to be difficult.

The pinkette, as expected, responds with a touch of irritation.

“In the end, isn’t all we got his name?” She murmurs to the two boys with a slight frown.

The latter’s attention, however, clearly isn't on her. They’re staring at him again - seriously, what’s up with them? - this time with a mix of amusement and something much sadder. The two exchange a quick wistful look, then immediately look away with ample alarm as if they’ve been caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

Kakashi’s single exposed eye twitched. What the hell is going on with those two?

“Next is you guys.” He urged, not letting himself appear affected.

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Naruto ends up being the one who speaks up first again, with enough excitement to make up for the other two and more. “I like instant ramen! But what I like even more is the ramen from old man Teuchi’s at Ichiraku’s. I dislike my precious people getting hurt,” His eyes dims slightly at that, and Kakashi finds himself wondering if this has to do with the Mizuki and Iruka incident he's heard about. He made a mental note to ask the Hokage for more details later. 

“My hobby is eating ramen and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage ’ttebayo!” Naruto’s eyes light up again as he finishes with the loud proclamation.

Kakashi briefly thinks of his sensei, Namikaze Minato, the yondaime Hokage for barely a single year before sacrificing himself in battle to defeat the kyuubi, and isn’t quite sure how he feels about his son’s declaration. At the least, the kid's got a long way to go before getting anywhere near his goal.

The Uchiha is looking at the blond weirdly again, but Kakashi ignores it, still not any more comprehending than before.

 _Maybe they’ve got some secret crush thing going on._ He muses distractedly. He was under the impression that Naruto is attracted to Haruno Sakura and Sakura is to Uchiha Sasuke, but this alternative would be much more amusing.

“My name is Haruno Sakura.” The pinkette follows. “What I like… I mean.. _who_ I like… And my _hobby_ …. And my _future dream_ …” She’s practically making visible heart eyes at Sasuke, and having dissolved into a blushing squealing mess by the time she’s done, vibrating at a frequency that can shatter glass.

Kakashi sweatdropped. Well at least now he knows for sure who she is into.

She’s going to need a lot of work before becoming a respectable kunoichi.

“And what about your dislikes?” He pushed, nearly desperate for an answer that doesn’t have to do with her personal attraction.

The answer came immediately. “Naruto!” Then she’s back to making heart eyes at Sasuke.

 _Ouch._ Alright then, moving on. 

Eerily expressionless onyx eyes drift up to meet his own again.

The boy stared.

He stared back.

The silence had enough time to go stale before he finally spoke up.

“My name .... is Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike a lot of things. My hobbies are none of your business. And, I have an ambition, to find justice for my clan and kill a certain man… Actually, two certain men. Painfully”

And if that isn’t the literal embodiment of emo.

Kakashi sighed mentally for the umpteenth time. That single-minded mentality is sure to get the boy killed. Or drive him to destruction. Likely both, all things considered. Also. Dramatic much?

Shutting his eyes and ignoring Sakura’s idolizing expression and Naruto’s - whatever that look is - he recollected himself and started explaining the following day’s team exercise.  


===

  
The rest of the meeting went just about how he remembered it, with Naruto playing along as his goofy self and ending with the bastard’s same damned warning to not eat breakfast - he may not remember much but he does distinctly recall waiting empty-stomached for so goddamned long that he felt like fainting before the test even began.

_Fucking bastard._

He’s not sure which version of Kakashi he’s cursing at.

Sakura has already left, wide eyed and shaken up by the reveal of the test. He supposes he can’t blame her, since he was pretty nervous as well the first time around, although he was more worried about the team dragging him down. Kid him was arrogant. Not that older him is much better. 

So he’s now left with a single blue eyed blond idiot, who’s still sitting in the same spot, barely a foot away from him, staring off somewhere into the distance. He was so loud and brash earlier, so nearly identical to his child self, but now he's just silent. He wonders if the other boy is just lost in thought, or is for some reason waiting for him to say initiate the conversation. 

He really doesn't want to. All that’s keeping him from disappearing the fuck out of there again is his gnawing need for answers.

“So uh…” He begins eloquently. “You’re here too?”

Naruto visibly flinches.

Huh, maybe he really was lost in thought.

“Oh yeah, so I’m guessing you also, you know,” Naruto tilted his head to face him, and raised his hand in some vague gesture. “Time traveled?”

“Yes. That. Did you do something?” He feels slightly stupid for asking, but he can’t quite dispute the probability, seeing as some part of his brain has associated Naruto with _all-sudden-weird-shit-that-doesn't-make-sense_ at some point in time.

“Oh no no no. Uh. Kurama said the Sage of Six Paths did something?” He doesn’t sound very sure.

“Kurama?”

“The Kyuubi, he’s here too. We’re kinda, friends now?”

“And he told you that. The Sage of Six Paths.” He deadpanned. “Sent us back in time.”

Naruto grimmaced.

“Pretty much. Apparently, he got upset and freaked out because he didn’t expect that we ended up doing,” Another vague hand gesture, “... that. So he gave us a second chance or something so ‘that’ doesn’t happen again.” He finishes quietly, dancing around the topic with the grace of a blind man in stilettos. 

Sasuke, however, feels perfectly content to avoid that particular metaphorical elephant as well, and so immediately nods comprehendingly, perhaps a bit too fast. If Naruto noticed, he didn’t react.

“So, this isn’t some weird illusion? We can’t go back?” He follows up.

“As far as I know, no and no.” Naruto replies. His eyes seem distant, as if contemplating something. “We’re pretty much stuck here. It’s kind of like a redo, I guess.”

“This is pretty much before all the shit went down,” He has vaguely realized that already, “We’re supposed to prevent the future from repeating.”

“I mean, if that's what you want. I don't think there's a rulebook or anything.” now that they’re actually talking, Naruto seems to be determined to look anywhere but at him, opting to glare resolutely at a patch of moss in the cracks of the concrete. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.” He amends hastily.

Sasuke finds himself frowning ridiculously at the blond. Is his pride such an issue in the other boy’s mind? 

“Of course I’m going to do it. I don’t want to have Kaguya fuck up half the Elemental Nations, and we don’t need Madara chucking entire meteors ass at us a second time.”

“Right. That’s cool.” Naruto affirms weakly, his hands fidgeting nervously around his seemingly empty kunai pouch. _He probably forgot to pack them somehow_ , he thought absentmindedly.

Another tense silence stretches on between them.

Sasuke wonders if they should broach the obvious issue of how they ended up here in the first place. But then again he doesn’t exactly know a good way to approach it. He has a feeling that “ _Oh hey sorry I insisted on fighting you to the death even though you just wanted peace and forced you to kill me while I simultaneously killed you. Anyways, we cool now?_ ” won’t do much to help.

It’s almost pathetic, but he kind of hopes Naruto can bring it up and get it over with. This particular elephant in the room feels like it’s expanding the longer they stay silent for.

Naruto is looking uncharacteristically stoic. Perhaps some part of him has gotten used to seeing him all dramatic and emotional, but seeing him so serious and mature feels odd to him. It’s as if someone sucked out all his excitable energy, and especially in his childhood body, the image is strangely jarring.

It occurs to him that it probably is just as difficult for the blond. Waking up when he totally isn’t expecting to, and then suddenly having the fate of the world shoved into his hands, along with the one guy who’s probably the worst partner ever in a situation like this.

“When I woke up this morning, I was in bed in my old shitty apartment. Really threw me for a loop there. Was real convinced that I was in the afterlife for a moment.” Naruto suddenly spoke up. 

“Hah, I woke up face down on the pavement.” The sudden conversation was unexpected, but he felt compelled to contribute. “And I’m still not totally certain this isn’t the afterlife.”

He really isn’t. All his senses are pointing towards this being the reality, but his mind still isn’t totally caught up. Conversing with Naruto isn’t much help. On one hand, it’s a bit reassuring to know that someone else is in the same situation; On the other hand, it’s Naruto, and he hasn’t talked with Naruto like this…

With a start, he realizes that this is the first time he’s talked to Naruto civilly like this in… years probably, if ever.

Naruto lets out a harsh huff of air that he’s pretty sure is some attempt at a laugh.

“Yeah, when I really think about it. You know, Jiji is still alive, Neji too, and Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei, even ero-sennin is still around somewhere ‘ttebayo! And even if it isn’t real, I want to protect it so I can see them again.” Naruto visibly brightens as he lists off the names.

Sasuke blinks.

“Ero- who?”

“Oh! Jiraiya, you know, the one who writes those filthy orange books Kakashi liked?.”

“...Oh.” Jiraiya the Sannin? He thinks he vaguely remembers Naruto training with him for a couple of years. The frog guy, right? The guy writes porn? _Huh._

“And.. my brother is still alive.” He finally voices out what has been stuck in his mind, ever since he’s had to do his introduction and remembered his old ambition of killing Itachi.

Danzo is still alive too, lurking somewhere where his creepy Roots organization in the rotten underbelly of Konoha, and he knows above all else that that fucker has got to go. He contemplates whether he can kill the bastard first or if he has better odds tracking Itachi down first. He wants Orochimaru six feet under too, but he can wait. He doesn’t have the patience to kill him half a dozen separate times just to ensure his actual death.

He isn’t sure how much he can accomplish at his current capabilities, but he wants to act as soon as possible. He doesn’t know how long his brother had been ill the last time, and there’s a lot he wants to say to him, and he really doesn't want to see him die again.

 _Maybe he can leave the village again?_ Not to Orochimaru though, he’s had enough of that bastard for 7 lifetimes over.

“So are you about to ditch the village again and hunt down Itachi in that 12 year old body?”, Naruto asked when the silence was starting too thin again, eyebrows raised. He’s trying to sound light-hearted , but the expression is just a touch too serious when plastered onto the childish face.

Sasuke’s mind grinded to a halt because _goddamned why does this little-not-actually-little bastard still know him so well_ , even though, if one really thinks about it, it wasn’t exactly a hard conclusion to arrive at.

“Please don’t?” Naruto added when he didn’t deny immediately.

What a flawless fucking persuasion.

They sat in silence for another minute - mostly silence - as Naruto can’t seem to stop fidgeting - before Sasuke decided that that’s enough of being a dramatic little bitch.

“Hn” Sasuke finally conceded, uncrossing his hands and standing up.

Naruto eyed him dubiously, but didn’t push further, likely realizing he’s not going to get a satisfactory answer out of this either way.

“Well,” Naruto says with a small sigh, also moving to get up, “We better get going before Kakashi-sensei gets suspicious why his two problem students are brooding on the rooftops together.”

Despite himself, he felt a slight twitch in the corner of his eye.

“I wasn’t brooding.”

“Yes yes, and my hair isn’t blond.” Naruto shot back in a childish tone, eyes glinting and grin so mischievous that it’s almost indistinguishable from his actual 12 year old self.

Sasuke can’t help but feel struck at the quick change. The continuous mood changes is giving him whiplash, and he suddenly wondered how much of that smile was real, how much was a façade. Was it a skill he learned throughout the years? To always put up a cheerful front whenever he demands it necessary, or has it always been there, a defense hiding the sadness and loneliness even as a child?

He’s really never put that much thought into the blond’s actions before, and he’s not sure why he’s starting now.

They stayed in a slightly more comfortable silence as they descended the stairs down from the rooftop, and once again Sasuke cursed the smaller body when he nearly stepped onto nothing and barely stopped himself from tumbling down the stairs. He almost fell again when he reached out for the handrail, only for his fingers to brush uselessly against the metal because his arms aren’t long enough. He could swear it was easier on the way up.

The hollow resonating clang of the metal resonanted in the enclosed space, the noise jarring in the silence previously only broken by their erratic steps. The sound dissipates far too slowly, the remaining faint rings grating frustratingly in his ears.

 _Being in his younger self is going to take getting used too,_ he thought, then felt the urge to laugh hysterically at the surreal thought because really, _how does one get into this situation?_

 _By brutal mutual murder of his best friend._ His mind supplied helpfully and he didn’t bother restraining himself from clawing a hand down his face in sheer hysteric exasperation because of course, of course there is that so he doesn’t even have the right to complain with all things considered. And for god’s sake they still haven’t addressed that particular topic and he probably never will because he will never be mentally prepared for it.

Naruto is peering at him not very discreetly with a look that is equal parts amusement and concern, and Sasuke wants to scream at him because _how the hell can you still even stand to look at me after all the shit I’ve done to you?!_

Apparently not receiving that mental message, the other boy continued looking at him with increasing concern and curiosity with those stupidly innocent blue eyes.

Since Sasuke is evidently a giant fucking coward, he opted to back the hell out of the conversation before he gets crushed by the aforementioned metaphorical elephant.

“I’m going home, don’t skip breakfast this time, dobe.” The familiar insult slipped out way too easily, perhaps due to his effort in mimicking their actual childhood banter. An onslaught of emotions crashed into him, and he duly noted that perhaps he should’ve been more conscious of casually uttering the literal last word he spoke before their deaths.

 _Does it count as last words if he didn’t technically stay dead?_ The ridiculous thought sped past him along with countless others that he’s too afraid to focus on, the reality of the situation finally seemingly to catch up to him, and suddenly the ever-present knot in his chest is too heavy, a phantom pain pulsing furiously where his heart is. He’s too aware of his own hands twitching at his side, memories of electricity sparking between them. 

He gasps for air quietly, thoughts spiraling too quickly for him to even process, and heart beating too rapidly in his too small body. With overwhelming difficulty, he pushes the tangled mess that is his mind aside and tries to focus back to reality.

In his mental turmoil, he missed the shock followed by an indecipherable expression that flashed over Naruto’s face, who didn’t even seem to notice Sasuke’s mini breakdown, seemingly too lost in his own head to react to the other boy’s condition. Instead, when Sasuke’s vision had refocused, the blond had already turned around, half jogging out of the stairwell.

“You too, teme.” His mind finally processed the response as he followed him out into the halls, then speed walked awkwardly away in the opposite direction, footsteps aggressively echoing through the hallway, determined to arrive home before he collapse to stew in his own angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [xxx](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtN2h-rGwc4)  
> 
> 
> Me rough drafting: This is fine
> 
> Me hours of editing later: I crave death
> 
> ===
> 
> Dang Kakashi is difficult to write, he still feels a bit all over the place. I love his character so I hope it fulfills at least some expectations. 


	5. Paralyzed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here have some more angst. And a tomato.
> 
> [xxx](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHhHUZsXTBk)

In retrospect, he _really_ should’ve thought this through.

He should’ve realized at some point during the fifteen minute walk from the academy to the Uchiha compound that _no, he hasn’t been here for years_ and _no, maybe this isn’t the best place to return to in his current mental state._

Alas, his brain has escaped him long ago and currently Sasuke is lying gracelessly face down somewhere in the compound.

_It looks like he’s pretty close to the front entrance of his old house_ , what little part of his mind that isn’t submerged in mud supplies.

He’s kind of proud he made it this far before breaking down, he thought numbly. Everything was normal for the first couple of steps, his body carrying him smoothly through the empty buildings like he has done his entire life, relying solely on muscle memory to take him home.

Then his absent brain suddenly decided to jump back online and he was hit like a train by the realization that he is once again in his childhood home. The place where he grew up, carried around by his nii-san, giggling with his cousin Shisui as they bickered over nothing; the place where his brother ruthlessly slaughtered the entire clan, leaving his family’s bodies seeping blood in to the mud; the place where he lived in alone for years, wandering around the ghosts only he can see with a promise of vengeance clutching his heart and nothing else.

It’s the place he left, walked out on without even looking back, without considering if he will ever return. Leaving the village was different, Konoha never truly felt like home, like a place where he belongs. The Uchiha compound, however, is special, it was important, in all it’s memories and reminders, in the way that leaving it behind felt like tearing away a small part of himself.

_He used to think of it as some sick punishment or a twisted reminder for his resolve, when he used to return back home from the academy to the empty homes seeing blood on the walls and bodies sprawled on the floor. He’d blink, then all he could see was Itachi smiling tiredly at him, pressing two fingers lightly into his forehead(“Maybe next time, outoto”). His father and mother conversing softly in the background, while their relatives stop by with their own kids and families to say hi. Then he’d blink again, and the rooms are empty with ghostly whispers once more and the walls hauntingly clean, but the smell of rust and blood in the air remains no matter what, and he never got to know whether it’s merely his imagination or not._

Perhaps it’s because it’s been so long since he’d had to face these visions, so long since he’s been a weak helpless child that he didn’t expect the onslaught of images and memories to be so debilitating. Nevertheless, the moment his eye caught the sight of a corpse lying on his side at the corner of a building, a man with shaggy hair and a name long forgotten staring blankly into his eyes, his knees gave out and he collapsed onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

_It’s not actually there_ , he tells himself, as he has again and again for so many times as a kid, _it probably never was_. He repeated more firmly.

Sasuke rolls himself onto his back and glances back at the corner. The corpse is gone, leaving only a messy patch of weed and a grumpy stray cat. Yet his heart is still hammering, refusing to slow down, as if warning against an approaching attack that never actually lands.

_This is pathetic._ He thought mildly. _I faced a ten-tailed monster capable of spitting chakra bombs the size of hokage towers, a reincarnated Madara that soloed an entire army who then absorbed said ten-tailed monster, then a literal chakra goddess hell bent on destroying the entire world._

_And I won, of all things. Yet I can’t handle setting feet inside my own home._ He feels a mocking smirk crawl up his face. The more he thinks about it, the more ridiculous his situation becomes. He’s starting to feel the urge to lose it completely and laugh maniacally into the sky above.

Yeah, thinking back on it, he's never been the most mentally sound.

Lying on his back in the dirt, Sasuke feels exhausted. It’s as if someone drained him of all his mental and physical energy, and he’s just a hollow remainder of himself. 

His eyes follow the clouds absentmindedly, lazily drifting across the slowly darkening sky. It’s not entirely unpleasant, to feel his heart void of it’s usual blistering anger.

A bird chirped somewhere far away. He breathes out slowly and makes no move to get up.

\---

When Sasuke is made aware of his surroundings again, the sky is already completely dark.

To be specific, something is making him aware of his surroundings.

That something is poking at his shoulder, attentively but cautiously, kind of like how Kabuto used to poke at mystery concoctions Orochimaru left lying around in the labs.

Huh, that doesn’t exactly conjure an optimistic image.

Sasuke snaps his eyes toward whatever the something is.

A blob of orange.

_Huh._

He blinks, his vision clears a little. A tuft of blond hair comes into view.

“...suke...” A voice is saying. “Sasuke?”

His name comes out softly and laced with concern, and he finally places the face in front of him.

“...Naruto?” He frowns at the face.

“Your alive!” Naruto’s childish form is crouched in front of him, the small hand prodding at him gives a small awkward wave.

At the stupidly cheerful words, Sasuke immediately scowls. 

“Why are you here?” His limbs feel stiff as he pushes himself up into a sitting position.

“Oh! Actually uh, there’s a few reasons?” Naruto answers sheepishly, bouncing up as he talks. “I thought maybe we should talk about what to do? Like, not just in general, we have the bell test tomorrow right? And it’s probably a good idea to decide on what to do? I mean we kind of are stuck together so it’s better than we agree on - ”

Sasuke resists the urge to slam his eyes closed and lay back down, aching back be damned.

“Aright alright, slow down.” He replies instead, standing up to meet the blond’s eyes.

Naruto is still in the same shape he was in when he last saw him, if not a bit more ruffled, so Sasuke guesses that he hasn’t gone home yet. Although, with how he’s eternally in the same jumpsuit, he can’t really tell. Naruto turns slightly to face him properly, gaze nervous but hopeful.

“Oh!” He suddenly startles, as if remembering something. “Here, this is for you.”

His hands reflexively grabs hold of the object shoved at him.

The object is fist sized, round, shiny, and kind of squishy.

Sasuke stared. Then he looked up at Naruto and kept staring, unimpressed.

Naruto is shifting underneath the gaze, evidently getting uncomfortable. He lasts another few seconds before dropping the confident facade, embarrassment quickly taking over instead as he throws his hands up.

“Ahhh I don’t know either okay? I ended up running into Iruka-sensei and I asked him because I don’t know what to do and he gave me the idea so I tried to find something but I don’t really know what I should get and I only had so much on me - “

“This is a tomato.” Sasuke interrupts.

“Fine! I’ll admit it’s stupid. It’s not my fault I don’t know anything else you like anyways. I was trying to be nice, you jerk.” Naruto huffs grumpily.

“A tomato.” He reitterates.

Sasuke is pretty sure Naruto’s face is visibly turning red. “Oh my god shut up. You like tomatoes, right? I felt awkward just barging in here and Iruka-sensei said it’s polite to bring a gift or whatever, so I got this at the market. You know, like an offering or something.” He explains awkwardly, looking away from him.

For some reason, Sasuke felt a touch guilty at the slightly dejected look. He still doesn't follow the logic though.

“So like a peace offering?” He tries.

“Yeah, exactly!” Naruto brightens again, and turns back to him with that stupid cheery smile. 

“And you talked to Iruka?” He finally processes a part of what was in the rambling earlier.

Clear blue eyes widened slightly. “Oh no, of course not about the whole time travel shebang,” Naruto amends quickly. “He just noticed me because I just may or may not have been sulking because _Ididn’tknowhowtoapproachyou_ so I ended up asking him for advice and -” He rambles off again.

Sasuke blinks. He seems to be doing that a lot recently, and he feels ridiculously slow processing things. Maybe time traveling back accidentally left half his brain behind.

“Right,” He replies, decidedly not trying anymore to understand Naruto’s thought process. “So why are you here again?”

“To talk. Basically, I think we should decide on how to deal with the bell test tomorrow. Among other things. A lot of other things.” Naruto explains.

Sasuke bites into the tomato. It’s a pretty good tomato, all things considered.

He chews thoughtfully. Naruto really is a few steps ahead of me this time. Sasuke hasn't even really thought about what he's going to do from here.

“Alright, come on then, we don’t need to talk about this outside.” He gestured with the half eaten tomato. It didn’t occur to him until halfway through the sentence that he had just invited Naruto to his house.

Judging from the surprise on the blond’s face, he didn’t expect it either, but seemingly decided not to question it.

“Oh yeah, speaking of. Why were you on the ground instead of in your house? It’s like, way beyond dinner time.

Sasuke bites angrily into the tomato.

“None of your business!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [xxx](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHhHUZsXTBk)
> 
> I promise we'll get to the comfort part of the h/c one day...
> 
> one day...


End file.
